Fullmetal Scales
by JD98
Summary: Roy sends Ed on a mission, to investigate reports of missing people as well as the man thought to be behind the disappearances. However, things don't go according to plan and leads Ed down a path that leaves the Fullmetal Alchemist a little bit... scaly. A Chimera Ed fic, response to a challenge by mellra. Don't own FMA.
1. Change

Fullmetal Scales

Chapter 1: Change

* * *

Eastern Headquarters

Colonel Roy Mustang sat at his desk and, instead of doing the paperwork he had been assigned in front of him, he was intently staring at the door as if expecting someone to arrive. Sure enough, the sound of several different kinds of footsteps approached the door. The door banged open and in walked Edward Elric, followed shortly by his younger brother Alphonse and Lieutenant Hawkeye. Edward, or Ed, was the youngest State Alchemist to ever join the military several months ago. Alphonse, or Al, was a large suit of armour that had glowing red eyes. What wasn't known to the public was that Al actually was the suit of armour, his soul being latched onto it by Ed after a failed attempt at reviving their dead mother through alchemy. The process cost Ed his left leg while Al lost his entire body, the former sacrificing his right arm to bound the latter's soul to the armour. Riza Hawkeye led the two brothers to the seats in front of Mustang's desk. While it was impossible to tell what Alphonse was thinking, it wasn't hard to grasp Ed's line of thought as the diminutive blonde alchemist glared at his superior with a look of disdain and annoyance. It was no secret the younger alchemist had no love for the Flame Alchemist.

"What do you want, Colonel Bastard?" Ed asked rudely while glaring at Mustang with golden eyes, his normal left hand being clenched by his artificial right hand made out of automail, full metal prosthetics.

"Good to see you too, Fullmetal," Mustang greeted as if he wasn't just insulted, making sure to use the boy's new codename while addressing him. He then asked lightly, "Any luck on finding the Philosopher's Stone?"

"We'd have better luck if you didn't keep calling us back here, Bastard," Ed grumbled as he crossed his arms.

Al placed a comforting armored hand on his older brother's shoulder before saying in a respectful tone, "What I think my brother is trying to say is we're following several leads, but we'd be happy to help out here."

Mustang nodded to the armored boy, ignoring Ed getting increasingly agitated. Mustang nodded as he pulled out an envelope from his desk. Clearing his throat, the Flame Alchemist got the attention of the entire group. Flipping the file open he began, "Several months ago, there has been a steady increase in the amount of missing person's cases. At first they seemed random, but then patterns began to emerge." He then pointed at several of the papers within. "All the people kidnapped were missing a limb of some kind. Many were from Ishval, but there have also been reports of others who had lost their limbs through other means. Another common factor is that most of these people didn't have the means which to purchase automail limbs. Finally, this man has been spotted in the area of all the alleged kidnappings. Curtis Connors, a former State Alchemist who excelled in medical and biological alchemy. He lost his arm during the war and he soon after left the Military."

Looking briefly over the files provided, something caught his eye. "It says here he was Dishonourably Discharged," he observed.

"Yes," Mustang answered before continuing. "He did not take the loss of his arm very well and was later declared to be mentally unbalanced. He left the military and then fell off the map for a few years, and yet now he returns just as a series of mass disappearances occurs? Seems too big to be a coincidence."

"So why not have the military police handle it or one of your men?" Ed asked. While he may have a slight hero complex, the elder Elric brother knew that Mustang wouldn't call him for a task like this unless there was some sort of advantage for himself.

"There are two reasons, Fullmetal," the Colonel responded while holding up two fingers. "Number one is that while he hasn't been in active service for years, Connors was a highly skilled alchemist during Ishval and knew his way around a battlefield. I'd need someone also skilled in alchemy on the job. The second reason is because of the common trait you share with the current victim M.O." he then gestured to Ed's right arm and left leg, the parts of which are automail. "He has been targeting amputees, so seeing you in the area might be enough to draw him out."

"So you're using us as bait, huh you bastard," Ed sneered.

"Of course," Mustang said flippantly, earning him a hard glare from Ed. He then gave the brothers a serious look, "However, I feel you two have the best chance of taking Connors in. Be careful though, he won't go down easily. Also, see if you can find the location of the missing people. Dismissed!" with that, Mustang returned to the work on his desk effectively telling that the meeting was over.

Lieutenant Hawkeye then escorted the Elrics out of the office while Ed was grumbling about 'jackass colonels.' She gave the boys a serious look. "I want you two to be careful, alright?

"Yeah." Ed said, almost dismissively, the Lieutenant meant well but the meeting with the Colonel had put Ed in a bad mood.

"I'm serious Ed." She replied sternly, "The Colonel was right saying you shouldn't underestimate Connors; I knew him a little during the war. While he wasn't much of a fighter, he knew how to avoid enemy troops through evasion and distractions and, when backed into a corner, he would easily set up a trap to defeat anyone before they knew they had lost."

Several Hours Later

"Right, so this is one of the most recent areas that a kidnapping occurred at," Ed mused as he looked up and down the sparsely crowded streets. About an hour into the search, Al suggested that the two split up to cover more ground and meet back at Headquarters before the sun set to see if they had found any clues. "So let's see if this guy is as good as they say he is," Ed finished as he looked over the surrounding area.

Several minutes went by but there was no sign of anything amiss. Sighing, Ed looked up to see that the sun would be setting soon. "Guess I should go check in with Al," he muttered.

Walking towards Headquarters, Ed passed by a long alleyway when a small flash of light drew his attention. Squinting, Ed looked into the alleyway before his eyes widened. There, standing casually by the wall at the end of the alleyway was none other than Curt Connors. He was a fairly average looking man with messy brown hair and green eyes. His most noticeable feature was that he was wearing a white lab coat and that the sleeve of his left arm was rolled up, showing that he was missing his arm.

Smirking, Ed walked down the alleyway, keeping an eye out for any traps. When he got within ten feet of the former alchemist, who had yet to move from his spot, Ed stopped and crossed his arms in front of his chest. "So, you're this Connors guy everyone's been talking about." He tilted his head, "Funny, I figured you'd be less…average."

"And you're the Fullmetal Alchemist I take it?" Connors said lightly. "I figured you'd be taller."

A vein throbbed in Ed's forehead as he shrieked, "Who's so small he needs to buy all his clothes in toddler size?!"

Connors sweatdropped at this. "I…didn't say that," he deadpanned. He then said normally, "Anyway, what does the youngest State Alchemist want from me?"

Ed, regaining his composure, asked calmly, "Are you the one responsible for the disappearances that have been occurring in this area?"

"I am," Connors replied with no hesitation.

Ed, while taken aback by the rather blunt reply, instead gave a confident grin. "Well then, that makes my job easier. I'm going to have to take you in, but do you want to do it the easy way or the hard way?" he asked while smacking his automail hand into his flesh hand.

Connor's grin intensified and replied smugly, "Well, I've heard nothing worth having is easy, so come on and try to make me go with you," he finished with a 'come here' gesture.

Edward grinned as well and shouted, "Easy way it is then!"

He then charged towards Connors at impressive speeds for a kid his age and launched into a spinning kick. However, when his booted foot made contact with Connors, the man's body shattered, revealing that the one he was talking to was nothing more than a cleverly placed mirror.

"What the-?" Ed started before he felt a sharp stinging sensation in his neck. Reaching up, Ed pulled out a now empty dart from his neck. Before he blacked out, the Fullmetal Alchemist saw Connors walking out of a shadowy part of the alleyway with a blowgun clutched in his remaining hand.

* * *

Unknown Location

Edward groaned as he opened his eyes and fought off a wave of vertigo that stabbed at his mind.

"Ah, you're awake. Good," a voice crackled through a loudspeaker. Blearily, Ed forced himself up into a sitting position before noticing his lopsided posture. In panic, he realized his automail arm and leg had been removed, leaving just the ports on his stumps.

Suddenly, the lights flickered on, nearly blinding him. When his eyes adjusted to the brightness, Ed found he was in a small barren room of sorts that had three concrete walls and one glass wall. Behind the glass wall, Ed could see Connors staring at him beside several covered objects with a condescending smirk on his face.

"So glad you could join me, Edward Elric. After all, I wouldn't want you to miss what is about to happen," he said cheerfully over the loudspeaker that allowed his voice to be heard in the small room.

"W-where am I? What are you doing, you bastard!?" Ed growled defiantly.

Connors' smirk, if anything, grew bigger. "Ah, you still have a good deal of fight left in you. Good, that will make the next part even better. As for your questions," the former State Alchemist made a sweeping gesture with his remaining arm. "This is my laboratory. Not as glamorous as those state sponsored ones, but quite functional all the same. As for what I'm doing? Why, I'm about to make the medical breakthrough of the century, Mr. Fullmetal Alchemist."

"You know my brother will find this place soon!" Ed bluffed, hoping that some clue left from where he was abducted from.

"Oh I have no doubt about that," Connors chuckled. Seeing Ed's confused look he explained, "By the time the results of my work is made known, I should have little trouble convincing the courts to overlook my…less savoury methods of experimentation," he finished grinning smugly.

"Experi-? The missing people!" Ed gasped as he connected the dots before intensifying the glare he sent at the madman. "What did you do to them?!"

"Oh they're all still very much alive and intact…Well, alive anyway," Connors shrugged before continuing, "You see Edward, in order to make progress, some sacrifices must be made. This concept is not only familiar with Equivalent Exchange, but the world in general. Ishval made it abundantly clear for me that sometimes extreme measures must be taken in order to get results." He grabbed where his left arm used to be at this before letting go and continuing, "After the military oh so graciously 'retired' me, I looked high and low for a way to become whole again, as well as to help those who have lost limbs over the years through various means. You'd be surprised at the amount of people in the world have to make due as a result of not being able to afford automail.

I searched high and low for a possible answer, from all known books in Amestris on medical Alchemy to Xingese Alkahestry, but none had ways of fixing entire limbs. That is when I made a discovery that provided an answer so simple, I was amazed no one had thought of it before! Do you know what that was?" He asked with giddy glee to Ed, who was half listening and half trying to find a way to escape, but the room was sealed tight.

"What?" he grunted, hoping to keep the deranged alchemist talking to buy himself some time, yet a part of him was genuinely curious on what Connors' solution to the problem he himself was trying to solve was.

"This!" Connors declared with glee as he ripped off the tarp of the items next to him, and when Ed saw what it was he stopped and stared in bewilderment.

In each cage was a type of lizard. Some species he recognized, others he didn't. Going from cage to cage, Connors affectionately patted each one with his hand as he described the lizards within. "Chameleons, capable of camouflaging their body's to match their environment. The sailfin lizard, capable of running on water to escape predators. The gecko, capable of scaling any surface. The horned lizard, one of the best defensive capabilities with hard scales, can run at incredible speeds for quick bursts and is even able to shoot blood out of its eyes to distract predators. The Komodo Dragon, has one of the most toxic bites in the world and is capable of swallowing its prey whole by detaching its jaw. And do you know what the best part is? Most of these lizards have the ability of regeneration!"

Ed quickly began to connect the dots on where the alchemist was going with this. "No…" he whispered in horror.

Mistaking the blonde boy's terror for awe, Connors continued, "Yes, quite the brilliant conclusion if I do say so myself! By making humans into chimera with different lizards, not only will they be able to replace their lost limbs but can be improved upon as beings all together!" he then laughed, a disturbing sound given the circumstances.

"Is that what you've been doing to all the people you kidnapped?!" Ed demanded in a rage.

"Quite so," Connors answered simply before flicking a switch on the wall by him, causing the other lights in the room to come on. When Ed saw what was being hidden in the darkness, he could only gasp in terror. In cages similar to his own were large, lizard like creatures that did different things in their cages from pacing (both on the walls and on the floor) to sitting and staring blankly ahead, to eating what looked like bloody deer carcasses that had been thrown in. There was at least a dozen of them, but the truly terrifying thing was that most of the lizard-like creatures had scraps of clothing on them, identifying them as once being human.

"Sadly, like with all experiments, this involved a lot of trial and error. As you can see, all my previous attempts were able to restore the subjects' bodies but their minds have regressed to some sort of primal state. However, I have worked out all the kinks and I'm sure your transmutation should go off without a hitch!" Connors continued jovially.

"What?!" Ed screamed at the man. "There is no way you're turning me into one of your experiments! I'd rather die first!" He then began to continue his struggles in earnest, but due to missing half his limbs he couldn't even stand properly.

"I'm afraid your compliance isn't a factor," Connors said in a no longer joking voice, his face dead serious. "After having run all the calculations, I am completely positive that this will work. Not only is your body young and easily mouldable, but you've shown to have a strong mind if your little excursions aren't just newspaper propaganda. I do hope that the alchemist, as well as the amputee part of you understands and appreciates what I'm about to do…one day at least. Now," he clasped his hands together before pressing them on the floor underneath the lizards' cages. "Let us begin!" he finished with a mad grin in place.

Edward then saw that a light was shining under the lizards' cages, and that there was now a light shining under his body as well. He didn't even need to turn around to know that there were intricate patterns of a transmutation circle on it. 'He built the entire room as a transmutation circle! And its connected with the transmutation circle outside?! How-?'

Before he could finish that thought, Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist's, world erupted in pain. He screamed loud and long, the surges of alchemical energy running through his body, breaking it down and reforming it with the lizards over and over again until it stabilized. Not even when Al and he had opened the portal and he lost his limbs had the pain been this bad! He wanted to black out, but his mind was going haywire as several foreign presences forced their way in. He wasn't sure how long it lasted, or even if he was dead or not, but after what felt like an eternity, the light faded and the pain stopped. Leaving a gasping blonde child on the floor of a small room.

Ed lay there, trying to catch his breath. 'Please…let it have failed,' he prayed for the first time in his life, 'Let the transmutation been a failure…'

With every ounce of his remaining strength, he managed to get into a sitting position. Connors was still there on the other side of the glass looking at him expectantly while the previously full lizard cages were now devoid of their occupants. Ed hoped beyond hope that something had happened and he wasn't a chimera, but it soon became difficult to concentrate when an itchiness began to spread on the stumps where his right arm and left leg used to be. Soon, the itchiness became a searing, burning sensation accompanied by a tight pinching around where his automail ports were. Staring at the areas, Ed could see that the flesh around the ports was inflamed and swollen like he had an infection.

Before he could voice any concern, however, the ports on both stumps shot out like a champagne cork, striking the cement wall opposite him and clattering to the floor. Ed could only watch as the flesh, blood, bone, and nerves on his stumps began to expand and reshape, lengthening out and taking the familiar form of his limbs. After only two minutes, his arm and leg were whole again as if he'd never lost them. Ed stared at his newly restored limbs in shock, flexing his fingers and wiggling his toes just to make sure they were real.

"Subject has just passed the regeneration phase with minimal difficulty. Now we wait for phase two to begin." Connors' voice drifted from the loudspeaker. Ed turned and saw that the man was speaking into a recorder he had brought out at some point to record the process.

"What's stage two?" Ed asked nervously, though he had an inkling on what it was. Connors didn't answer and for nearly five minutes they sat in silence. Finally, Ed began to crawl to his feet, a little unsteady on the newly formed leg whose nerves were a little raw but was feeling better as time went on. However, before Ed could try to walk again, the itchiness returned but this time it spread throughout his entire body.

Edward started to scratch himself with his newly formed hand to get used to the feeling again, but a sharp pain from the point he scratched at forced him to stop as he resisted the urge to yell in pain. Looking at his hand, Ed couldn't stop the short scream from escaping his lips as he saw his hands were no longer tipped with finger nails. They were claws.

Frantically, Ed stared at his other hand and confirmed that they were now tipped with inch long ebony claws as well. It was then he noticed that his hand looked scaly and rough, like his skin was dried out. The look spread down his arm to his body and Ed was sure it was covering every inch of skin on him. The skin seemed to crack as it finally formed into greenish scales. Ed was about to scream but a throbbing pain entered his teeth. Running his tongue (which he noticed seemed longer and more pointed than before), he could feel his teeth lengthening and sharpen, becoming needle like fangs. Ed's scalp itched as his long blonde hair retracted into his scalp and on every other pore on his body. Looking down at his feet, Ed saw that his exposed left foot had fused his toes together so now he only had two large, clawed toes. His boot on his right foot bulged before shredding as his other foot followed suite.

It was then that his tailbone and face had a sharp pain stab them. Both parts of the boy's body began lengthening, his tailbone becoming a long whipping tail covered in scales while his face became a reptile's muzzle. Finally, it felt as if his insides were trying to push out of him as his body slowly expanded, turning his four foot frame past five, then six feet, his muscles swelling out like balloons. When it was all said and done, the chimera formerly known as the human Edward Elric got onto his two toed feet, standing in his ripped clothes at just under seven feet tall, and gave a loud roar, his yellow eyes forming into slits.

"Edward?" a voice crackled over the loudspeaker, making the lizard creature whip his head up to the sound with a snarl. "Edward, can you understand me?" the voice continued.

Enemy, hunt, prey, _kill_!

The chimera launched himself at the loudspeaker, taking the entire thing into his jaws and ripping it from the wall before spitting it out and letting out an enraged roar.

Outside the cage, Connors could only sigh at yet another failure. "Oh well, back to the drawing board I guess. Seems he couldn't keep his mind either. What a disa-eh?" he cut off as he saw chimera Ed punching the glass wall to his cage. Chuckling, Connors went to stand in front of the feral lizard. "It's no use Edward. That class it reinforced, it'd take a tank to even scratch the surface!" he mocked. However, that's when he noticed the chimera seem to give the glass a studying gaze before brining both of its clawed hands together. "That's… impossible!" Connors breathed as the lizard placed its hands on the glass.

Sparks of transmutation leapt from the area and before his very eyes, the glass he was so proud of fell apart like sand. "Impossible! Impossible!" Connors shrieked as Chimera Edward stepped out of the glass and began stalking towards him, his fangs glistening. "You can't perform alchemy! You no longer have cognitive thought to work with!" The desperate alchemist screamed as the chimera picked him up in his large clawed hands and lifted him off the floor like a rag doll. Connors struggled feebly in the chimera's grasp as he was brought closer and closer to those glistening fangs. "Fullmetal!" he finally screamed in fear.

That word seemed to strike a chord within the lizard's primal brain. His slit pupils widened until his eyes took on a more human appearance as he suddenly dropped Connors like a sack of potatoes. Grasping his head in pain, the chimera roared as memories and thoughts began to pierce through the hazy cloud of instinct and aggression.

"All is One, and One is All."

"Whether it be an arm, or a leg, or even my heart you can take it! So give him back... he's my little brother and he's all I have left!"

"It's all my fault... Al lost his body, and it's all my fault! He can't eat anymore, he can't sleep, he can't feel cold or warmth... He's my little brother, and I'm supposed to protect him and I did this... How can he ever forgive me!"

"I go by many names. I am the World. I am the Universe. I am God. I am Truth. I am One. I am All. And I am You."

"One year!"

"Big Brother!"

"The Fullmetal Alchemist."

"Edward."

Edward Elric gasped as his mind came back full force. He stood in a daze, staring at his now clawed and scaly hands. Remembering the bloodlust, he just felt, he shivered. 'I…I wanted to kill Connors…rip him to shreds…to _eat_ him!' That last thought drove him to his knees, emptying the contents of his stomach in the process.

Suddenly, there was a large bang on the door at the other end of the building they were in. Ed and the still dazed Connors turned their heads just in time to see the door burst open in a fury of flames. As soon as the dust cleared, Colonel Roy Mustang walked in, his ignition gloves on his hands. Following shortly behind him was Riza Hawkeye, pistol in hand and sharp eyes surveying the surroundings. Finally, Al stepped in, his glowing eyes darting around frantically.

All three spotted Ed and Conners nearly simultaneously. Seeing the monstrous looking chimera, Mustang raised his hand with his fingers in a snapping position while Hawkeye raised her pistol, already locked and loaded. Al, however, immediately looked past the scales and claws as he saw familiar, scared golden eyes looking into his own glowing ones. Looking down, the armoured boy's suspicions and fears were confirmed when he noticed the ripped up clothes that clung to the chimera's body.

"Wait!" Al called out, holding out a large armoured hand to stop either soldier from firing. Ignoring their questioning looks, Al asked hesitantly as if hoping that he was wrong, "B-Big Brother?"

Edward, using transformed vocal chords that sounded rough and inhuman even to his barely visible ear holes, chocked out, "A-Alphonse…"

* * *

A/N: Roll credits! Here is the updated version of mellra's challenge, credit goes to him for this chapter, anyway, thank you all for reading this, I hope you enjoyed it. If you're fans of Naruto I have a Naruto and FMA crossover some of you may be interested in. And with that, I hope to see you next chapter, drop a review as I'm always looking for constructive advice and hopefully I'll see you guys next time.


	2. Rescue

A/N: Hey guys, here is the next chapter (finally), posted on none other than my B-day, I hope you all enjoy it.

* * *

(Earlier with Al)

It was several hours into the search for Connors and so far, Al had had no luck in tracking down the rogue alchemist. He began heading back to Headquarters, however a conversation that was quiet yet audible enough for Al to hear drew his attention. The two speaking were both men who were quite scruffy and dressed in tattered clothing, implying they were very poor at best.

"Did you see that creepy mad scientist guy again?" One of them asked in a reassuring tone.

"Yeah, luckily I don't think he saw me but he was carrying off some kid, I'd really hate to be in his position."

Cautiously, Al approached the two, though the noise of his armour alerted them to his presence, "Can we… do something for you?" The first man asked in a slightly nervous tone, obviously a little intimidated by Al's size.

"Yes, I was wondering if I could ask you about the person you saw?" Al asked the second of the two men.

"I don't know why you want to know about a fella like that." The second man stated, "But I guess if I was to describe him, he had a lab coat with the right sleeve rolled up, brown hair and glasses, that enough for you kid?" He asked, taking note of Al's child-like voice.

"Well, yes and no, it's definitely the person I'm looking for but could you also give me a description of the person he carried off?" Al asked, even if Connors himself couldn't be found, a way to identify his latest kidnapping victim could at the very least lead Al to Connors' last known location.

"Yeah," The man answered, "he was a blond kid, hair done up in a braid and he had like a red coat on."

It instantly dawned on Al just who the man was describing, "Did you see which direction he went in?!" He half-asked, half-demanded, grabbing the man by the shoulders.

"Yeah I did! Now could let you let go?! It feels like you're gonna break my collarbone!" He shouted back.

Immediately realising he was unintentionally hurting the man, Al let go, "Sorry." He muttered apologetically, "But I was being serious, I really need to know where he went."

"You're with the military, aren't you?" The first of the two men asked, looking Al over suspiciously.

"Uh…" Al's surprise at the sudden question clearly blew his cover as the man gave him a knowing look, "Yes." He confirmed, deciding not to waste time he could use looking for Ed.

"At least you're honest," He stated, "we'll help you out I guess."

"Thank you." Al said gratefully, "Just give me a minute and I'll be ready." He continued, knowing who he needed to contact.

Headquarters

"So your brother has been captured and a couple of homeless men are claiming they might know where he and Connors are?" Mustang spoke into the phone, Al had contacted him only a few minutes ago and had explained the situation to the Colonel.

"Yes Colonel." Al confirmed.

"Fine then, I'll be there in a bit." He said, calmly putting the phone down before standing up and walking out of his office, "Ah, Lieutenant," He exclaimed, noticing his favourite subordinate, "Grab my Ignition Gloves, we're moving out."

"For what reason sir?" Riza asked, though by the sound of her tone she already knew it had something to do with the Connors case.

"Fullmetal has been captured and per information his brother got from a couple of eyewitnesses, Connors took him to a derelict warehouse on Truman Street." Roy explained.

"I see," She said, her expression briefly flashing with worry before she continued, "I assume only the two of us will go initially to avoid wasting time?"

"Sharp as ever." The Flame Alchemist complimented, as he began to walk away, "Contact a couple of troops for a raid team, I'll get us a vehicle, don't keep me waiting."

"Of course not sir." Riza answered.

Luckily, it took less than half an hour for the two to get prepared as they drove through the streets of East City towards the derelict industrial sector where the warehouse was supposedly located. It was easy to find given the fact that Al was standing in front of one the warehouses with the two men that Roy presumed were the armoured boy's informants.

"Hello Colonel Mustang." Al said, clearly eager to begin the operation as soon as possible, for obvious reasons.

Roy acknowledged Al with a nod as he turned to address the two men, "You're sure this is the right place?" He asked sternly.

"Yes sir." The two replied somewhat nervously.

"Then the two of you may want to stand back." Roy advised, slipping a pair of Ignition Gloves on as he began to walk towards the door. The two men were quick to heed the suggestion as they retreated into the backstreets.

"Ready?" Roy asked as he primed his gloves, Riza stood next to him with her pistol at her side, fully loaded. Al stood behind the two, ready for the moment when they would rush in to the abandoned building. Snapping his fingers, the doors where blown clear with a burst of flame alchemy.

As the smoke began to clear, the three advanced quickly but cautiously, taking care in case Connors had rigged the place. However, the sight that awaited the three was much more shocking than they could have imagined. Connors was sat on the floor, in an obvious state of shock, if the incoherent mumbling was anything to go and kneeling in front of him was a humanoid lizard, seven-foot-tall with its fingers and toes tipped with claws, clearly a chimera judging from the ripped clothing.

Riza raised her pistol and Roy primed his Ignition Gloves, ready to dispatch the likely unpredictable chimera. However, Al noticed something about the chimera, its eyes were _golden_. "Wait!" Al cried, ignoring the questioning looks he earned from the two, he asked a question he desperately hoped he was wrong, "B-big brother?"

Much to the shock of the three, the creature began to speak, in a rough, inhuman voice, "A-Alphonse…"

During this time, Connors had managed to regain his composure and rushed as quickly as he could towards the transmutation circle etched on the floor. Slamming his hand on it, causing a bright light to illuminate the cages that the remaining lizard chimeras were being kept in, "Connors, what the hell are you doing?!" Mustang roared.

Connors turned to face the Flame Alchemist, displaying a triumphant grin, "You will be the first to be shown the face of the new world." He answered cryptically, it was then that the group noted in horror that the cages keeping the dozen strong chimera restrained had at the very least, partially disintegrated. Riza and Roy watched the large group warily, both raising their respective weapons in anticipation of what the creatures would do.

It didn't take long for the monsters to realise they were no longer being held back, several of them abandoning the half-chewed goat carcasses in favour of fresher meat. Riza quickly picked off two with a headshot each before her attention was diverted by Connors, who attempted to escape through the gaping hole created by the group, she fired a bullet at him, nailing him the knee. Connors cried out in pain as he hit the ground, even so he was determined to get away despite his injured leg and tried to crawl along using his one good arm. Luckily, reinforcements had arrived on the scene and they proceeded to surround Connors, restraining the former State Alchemist.

Two of the chimera attempted to lunge for Riza while she was distracted, however they gave of shrieks as they were quickly engulfed by Mustang's Flame Alchemy, leaving nothing but charred corpses, "You should be more careful Lieutenant." Roy said in playfully cocky tone.

"I could say the same thing to you." Riza retorted, aiming her gun at the roof just a little to Roy's right, firing off three bullets. There was a series of grunts followed shortly by a crash as three chimeras landed dead on the warehouse floor, each with a bullet hole in their skull, evidently, the creatures had been attempting to ambush the Flame Alchemist from above. Roy's only response was to grumble indignantly at his lieutenant showing him before setting to work incinerating another group of three chimeras that had resorted to charging at the group head-on.

Al had already set to work via crushing the skulls of four smaller chimeras. However, he was soon set upon by the largest chimera (1). The creature stood nearly a foot taller than Al and demonstrated its superior strength by backhanding Al, causing the armoured boy to crash into a wall. Al barely had time to think as the chimera was soon upon him again, opening its maw as it got ready to bring its fangs down in a potentially armour-crushing bite, a swift kick to its jaw spared Al from finding out. However, the blow only succeeded in pushing the chimera back briefly as it lunged for Al again, this time cutting into the metal of his bicep on the right arm, causing a deep gash, though Al's arm wasn't severed.

Al was able to deliver an uppercut to the fierce creature, staggering it briefly before Al was able to land more blows to the chimera. However, his onslaught was stopped as the chimera let out an enraged snarl, lunging forward with a right-handed vertical slash, Al managed to block the attack with his own hand, causing their fingers to interlock. Sensing it wasn't getting anywhere, the chimera went for another swipe, Al blocked it in the same manner as the previous strike, essentially putting the two into a stalemate. However, a loud creaking sound alerted Al to a sudden problem, Al's arm right arm was beginning to bend backwards due to the chimera's impressive physical strength putting strain on the already weakened metal.

Despite the chaos, Ed hadn't even moved, continuously examining his body as he still attempted to recover from the disgusting feeling that he had wanted to devour Connors. Finally, Ed chose to look up, where his eyes landed on Al, struggling against the largest chimera. Now, Ed may have still been sick to his stomach but his brother was currently in danger and as such, he charged towards the grappling duo with a battle cry. Despite the fact that the chimera was bigger than Ed, given that the Elric brothers were currently of equal height, it was still blindsided when the State Alchemist grabbed it around the waist and smashed it against the wall. Naturally, the chimera became enraged as it shifted its focus to Ed as it furiously exchanged several blows with the young alchemist. Despite the depth of the cuts to both parties, they were quickly healing, the only way for one of them to go down would be to kill the other. Luckily the creature's bloodlust soon made it uncoordinated, allowing Ed to find an opening after blocking a swipe and dug his claws into the chimera's windpipe. The creature stopped, coughing up blood, a gurgling sound was created as it struggled to breathe. Eventually, the chimera went limp, once Ed was positive the brute was dead, he kicked it off his claws, flicking his wrist to get the blood off his claws.

After a tense moment, Al finally spoke up, "Ed?" His brother turned to him, his mouth curling upwards. It took a moment for Al, to realise, but Ed was smiling at him.

"Hey Al." Not a moment after he made the statement, Ed's eyes closed as he fell to the ground, the exhaustion of undergoing his transformation and the adrenaline rush wearing off finally taking its toll on him.

"Ed!" Al cried with worry, rushing to his brother's side, soon being joined by Roy and Riza shortly thereafter. That was when the trio noticed something, Ed was beginning to change, his claws, snout and tail beginning to regress. His scales turning back to skin, his hair grew back in un-braided locks and his body shrunk. Leaving Ed in nothing but tattered pants lying on the floor.

"Colonel?" Riza asked, her questioning tone clearly asking what they were going to do.

"We can't allow anyone to know about this." Roy stated, Al suddenly stood between him and Ed.

"You're not going to hurt Ed." Al said in an unusually aggressive tone, surprising the two soldiers as it would take a lot to get Alphonse even a little cross.

"Easy Alphonse." Roy said in a calming tone, putting his arms up in a surrender gesture, realising Al assumed that his previous statement meant killing Ed, "We're not going to hurt Fullmetal, but consider the implications if Edward becoming a chimera was made public knowledge. At worst, the public would cause an uproar and the incident would likely shatter their trust in the state military at best he could become widely known as the only living successful human chimera and he'd likely then be carted off for experimentation." At Roy's explanation, Al's hostility lessened, "Therefore this incident _must_ remain confidential."

"And how do you propose to do that Colonel Mustang?" A new voice rung out.

"I don't see why I should-" Roy began in an annoyed tone, though his breath hitched in his throat when he saw who it was. The newcomer was an imposing figure, with a full head of short-cut black hair, a thick moustache and only his right, blue-tinted eye was visible as his left was covered by an eyepatch. There was a sword attached to his waist but his most distinguishing feature was the four stars on the epaulettes of his standard issue military coat. Even if the trio were not aware of the fact that only one officer in all of the Amestrian government bore four stars, they knew the man's face well enough, he was Fuhrer King Bradley, the leader of the Amestrian government.

"F-Fuhrer!" Roy exclaimed in surprise, "Sir, what are you doing here?"

"I was coming to check up on the progress of the Elric brothers." Bradley explained, "It is indeed true that Edward Elric's newfound condition must be kept a secret, you may leave it all to me." The group were visibly shocked by the senior officer's offer, "However…" Bradley continued, garnering the group's attention once again, "If Edward Elric still wishes to remain in active service to the military, he needs to get a handle on his new powers. I will leave it to your discretion, for now, take him to a doctor but I would suggest using an alias so no one questions the sudden disappearance of his automail." With that, Bradley began to walk away. Before he was out the door, he turned around to address Roy, "But Colonel, understand one thing you will _not_ attempt keep secrets from me again, is that clear?" At Roy's nod, Bradley prepared to leave once again before Al spoke up.

"Uh… Fuhrer?"

"Yes?" Bradley replied, facing the youngest Elric brother, his expression still stern from addressing the Colonel.

"Thank you, sir." Bradley didn't respond for a moment but then smiled kindly at Al.

"No need to thank me Alphonse, I simply have the best interests of the military at heart." Before any of the group could question Bradley's somewhat cryptic response, he was already out the door.

* * *

Curt Connors was bored, it had been several hours since his arrest and during that time he had been brought to the medical bay in East City prison. He currently had his one good arm handcuffed to the metal frame of his hospital bed, the leg that had been shot was in bandages and still hurt after the surgery to have the bullet removed. He knew that for his 'crimes against the state', he would likely be executed. After making a name for himself as an escape artist among the military, he never thought he would be caught and in this instance the thought of death scared him. Though the fools in the state's upper crust wouldn't get the satisfaction of seeing fear cross his features or so he liked to believe.

It was then that he heard the medical bay's door open, assuming it was one of the nurses, he opted to ignore the source of the footsteps that approached his bed.

"Curt Connors?" A distinctly male voice asked, which Connors thought was strange considering the nurse on duty was female. He turned to his apparent visitor and his eyes widened in shock. Fuhrer Bradley was standing over him.

Clearly, the Fuhrer had noticed Connors reaction and held up a hand as a calming gesture, "At ease."

The order did the trick though Connors had to point out one error with the Fuhrer's statement, "I'm not in the military anymore."

"Oh, I am well aware of that." Bradley replied.

"So, to what do I owe the displeasure?" Connors asked dryly, purposefully getting the saying wrong, "Come to personally execute me?"

"No, I'm not here for something like that." Bradley stated, upon noticing Connors' bewildered look, he continued, "I have a proposition for you."

* * *

A/N: And done! Thank you for reading guys, feedback is appreciated and I hope you guys have an awesome day, with that, I'm out.


	3. The Way Back Home

"So, glad you could join me, Edward Elric."

"You see Edward, in order to make progress, some sacrifices must be made."

"By making humans into different chimera with different lizards, not only will they be able to replace their lost limbs but can be improved upon as beings altogether!"

"You can't perform alchemy! You no longer have cognitive thought to work with!"

"Fullmetal!"

"B-Big brother?"

Ed woke with a start, having suffered from a nightmare. He looked around, noticing the type of bed he was in as well as the sterile smell, he concluded he was in a hospital. Judging from the light peeking through a slight crack in a set of drawn curtains, it was very likely early afternoon. Suddenly, he remembered the most likely reason for why he was there in the first place and breathed a sigh of relief, "It was all just a bad dream…" He said, placing his hands on the bed and that's when he felt it, the soft fabric of his bedsheet.

Normally, this would be no cause for alarm in the case of his left hand, but he also felt the sensation in his right hand, the one that was _supposed_ to be his automail arm, the same was true for his left leg. Uneasily, he flexed his fingers and toes as well as doing the same to his regenerated limbs. Finally, he did the only thing he could think of to indeed make sure it wasn't some horrible dream, he pinched himself as hard as he could.

Inevitably, the Fullmetal Alchemist had no such luck, this was indeed his reality, he was a chimera. If Ed was being completely honest, in some way, he was happy to have his real arm and leg back, but at what cost? He didn't feel any different but still the knowledge of what he was now was, for lack of a better term, sickening. Then he remembered what he almost did to Connors, only becoming vaguely aware of the door to his room opening as he felt himself wanting to be sick, covering his mouth with his hands.

Rapid footsteps soon followed, two sets from the sound of things, one sounded metallic indicating it was likely Al. Due to Ed's leaning position, he couldn't see exactly who the other person was though judging from the coat-tails the person was in the military. Ed's unknown visitor produced a metallic bowl that was concave in shape, realising it was a sick bowl, Ed quickly grabbed it and retched into it. Though due to having emptied his stomach contents back at the warehouse, all he was able to produce was bile.

Once he was done gagging on the mixed bitter-sour taste, he was asked a question by his other visitor, whom he immediately recognized as none other than Lieutenant Hawkeye, "How do you feel Edward?"

Ed paused, in all honesty unsure how to answer the only superior he really respected, "I… don't really feel any different, but it's just so… surreal you know. I've needed automail for about five years now and all of a sudden, I don't."

It was then that Riza did something which seemed out of character for the normally stern Lieutenant, she hugged the older of the Elric brothers. She then began to speak up, regret filling her tone, "I'm sorry, if we'd been there sooner, we could have…"

"It's not your fault." Ed assured her, tentatively patting her on the back with his regenerated limb, the Lieutenant breaking away from the eldest Elric brother shortly after.

"I'll leave the two of you alone, Alphonse I trust you can deliver the news?" She asked, the armoured boy gave a slight bow to function as a nod, "Then simply let me know when Ed is likely to be discharged and I'll be waiting for you at the train station."

Once she had left, Ed decided to ask his question, "What news?"

"Colonel Mustang said our search for the Philosopher's Stone going to be suspended-" Al began, however, he was cut off by Ed screaming angrily.

"What the hell is that bastard Colonel doing?! We had a deal! How the hell am I going to get your body back without a Philosopher's-!"

"Ed!" Alphonse yelled with an unusual amount of force in his tone for the normally soft-spoken Elric brother, which had the desired effect of immediately silencing the Fullmetal Alchemist's tirade, "It's temporary, the Colonel's orders are that we need to take three month's leave in Resembool for you to control your new powers." The explanation calmed down Ed for the most part, but he was still clearly annoyed with having the sudden order thrusted on him. It was then that a thought occurred to the young State Alchemist, going to Resembool would likely result in seeing Winry. Even though his childhood friend would likely be overjoyed for him in getting his lost limbs back, he had absolutely no clue what Connors had done with his automail and given her fierce reputation when it came to her creations…

"Are you okay, Ed?" Al asked, noticing his brother's nervous sweating.

"I'm fine." Ed responded in an unsure tone.

"It's Winry isn't it?" The youngest Elric brother asked rhetorically, Ed only being able to give a nervous nod, "You know, you're probably going to have to tell her."

"I know that." The State Alchemist snapped, though the two were interrupted when one of the hospital staff came through the door to inform Ed that he could be discharged as early as the evening. Once the staff member had left and with the new information in hand, Ed made his decision, "Looks like we're going to be making a few phone calls."

"I've got to say Fullmetal, I didn't think you would call _me_ of all people first." Roy said in a somewhat triumphant, nonchalant tone, having received the call from the new chimera barely a moment ago.

"Yeah, yeah you damn colonel." Ed answered, not being in any mood for his superior's typical arrogance.

"Though, you do know why I'm sending you away right?" The Flame Alchemist continued, his tone shifting to one of seriousness.

"I'm aware, but how do you expect me to 'control' these new powers?" Ed replied in a hushed tone, not wanting anyone else to hear.

"That's tough to answer," Roy admitted, sitting back in his chair, "If you're a chimera then you're technically part animal, so it's possible that until you control it you'll likely have something that could trigger the transformation to occur. If you find out what that is, I imagine you could freely change yourself from one form to the other."

"Thanks… for the advice." The Fullmetal Alchemist said gratefully, perhaps his superior wasn't quite such a bad guy after all.

"Oh, by the way?" Roy questioned, "How's that little girlfriend of yours doing?" He asked in a teasing tone, snickering when the only response he got was the sound of the phone on the other end being promptly hung up and the dial tone (1) ringing in his ear.

Meanwhile on the other end, Ed was blushing up a storm, internally cursing the colonel for phrasing his relationship with Winry in such a way. Speaking of his childhood friend, he needed to give her a call as well, plucking up his courage he placed his finger on the first digit of his friend's contact number.

Winry breathed a sigh of relief, having just finished up on repairing a piece of automail as part of her next big project, when the phone rang. Her grandmother, Pinako was currently out grocery shopping as such she was left to pick up the phone, "Hello?"

"Hey Winry, it's me." A familiar voice to the mechanic spoke up on the other end.

"Ed?!" Winry asked in surprise, since her friend had joined the military there had been little time for the State Alchemist to send a letter, never mind call the Rockbell's, "How have you been?" She asked cheerfully, eager to catch up with her fellow blond.

There was a pause on the other end, as if Ed was uncertain of something, "Well… something happened, something that… is pretty big to put it lightly, this could get long."

By the time Ed had finished explaining both what had happened to him and his current position, Winry had gone completely silent and honestly, there wasn't a word she could say in response to what happened. On one hand, Ed had quite miraculously regained his limbs, but on the other, he had already been through so much and to hear what that bastard had done to him… It filled her with both grief and rage, grief for her friend, who's life had been changed quite possibly forever and rage, directed at the rogue scientist who had carried out the change.

"Winry…?" Ed asked from the other end tentatively, the automail expert had been so wrapped up in her feelings towards the situation that she didn't realise she was gripping the phone tighter than usual.

"I'll see you when you get back here." Winry said in almost monotonous tone, hanging up almost as soon as the words left her mouth. She proceeded to slowly walk over to a chair, slumping down in it in an attempt to let all of the information she had been given sink in. She soon began to shake, bringing a hand up to her eyes as she started to cry. A whimpering sounded at the blonde's feet, bringing her hand away from her face revealed the source of the sound as Den, the Rockbell family dog. The pet jumped up on her master, licking at Winry's face in an attempt to comfort her, "Thanks Den." The blonde said gratefully as she affectionately stroked the dog's back, while it certainly wasn't enough to make Winry forget about what Ed had told her, she certainly appreciated the comfort.

Suddenly, Den's ears pricked up at the sound of the front door being opened, "Winry, I'm back." The voice of her grandmother called, the sound of her footsteps could soon be heard approaching the living room, the matriarch of the Rockbell family entering shortly after, "What's wrong?" The old woman asked in a concerned tone, noticing that something about her granddaughter wasn't quite right.

Winry realised her grandmother would need to be informed of what had transpired, so she took a deep breath to calm herself before beginning, "Something's happened with Ed."

* * *

Sometime in the early evening, Ed and Al arrived at Central's train station, after getting an official discharge the two had found a car waiting outside for them. The driver had handed Ed back his State Alchemist's watch as well as a change of clothes identical to his usual outfit. While it had been awkward to change in to said outfit in the vehicle whether it was moving or not, he had finally succeeded in putting the apparel on. Soon, the duo spotted Riza after looking around for her, "Are you ready?" She asked.

"Yeah, we are," Ed replied, "But why did you ask to meet us here?"

"You didn't tell him?" Riza asked, giving Al a questioning look.

"Tell me what?" The Fullmetal Alchemist asked, not understanding the situation.

"Well, I would have, if a certain shorty hadn't interrupted me." The youngest Elric brother answered with a slight teasing tone directed at his older brother.

"Who are you calling so small he could fit through the hole of a sewing needle!" The young State Alchemist shouted comically, much to the amusement of his companions.

"You see Edward, I'm to be your chaperone." Riza explained after chuckling at the banter between the two brothers.

"You mean to put me down." The blonde stated in an accusatory tone.

The Lieutenant flinched slightly, an expression of hurt clearly evident, though she needed to give Ed credit where it was due, "Alright, I won't lie to you. Let's say if you morph into your lizard form and you can't control it, you could seriously hurt or even kill someone. But let me make two things clear one, that is the _last_ thing I want to do, and two, this wasn't originally part of the colonel's order."

That particular sentence struck a chord with Ed, he hadn't necessarily thought about it, but the more he did he realised that for him to have been treated at the hospital, someone with great influence must have been on their side. State Alchemists were required by law to give their title if they were ever put into a hospital or held in custody by the police force. The fact that no doctors or nurses that saw him questioned the fact that the Fullmetal Alchemist, who's only known public feature was a set of automail limbs had been admitted with no prosthetics proved that someone in a particularly high place was covering for them. Also, with Mustang having the rank of Colonel, it meant that whoever it was would be above him in rank and the list of people who fitted that description was admittedly fairly short, "Okay," Ed answered, "I understand."

Riza gave a rare smile at the young alchemist, without another word, the three set of towards the train that would take them back to the Elric brother's home town. It would be a long ride back to Resembool.

* * *

A/N: And finished! I am at last free of my accursed A-Levels bringing this chapter to you guys, I hope you all enjoyed! The summer should hopefully see more frequent updates, so I hope you look forward to that.

1) Since the FMA universe has certain technologies, including communication that are behind real life in many parts of the world, I think it's reasonable to assume phones would still have a dial tone.


	4. Discovery

The faintest glows of the sun's rays were just beginning to break over the horizon, slightly illuminating Resembool. Winry slept on a bench at Resembool station, covered by a blanket, a pillow supporting the back of her head against a stone wall and Den at her feet. She was determined to be the first one to greet the Elric brothers and had brought Den along to make sure no one tried anything while she was asleep. A train began to pull into the station, the mechanic cracked an eye open briefly but shut it just as soon, too tired to bother with it for the moment. The sound of footsteps indicated passengers were being dropped off but Winry's eyes still remained closed, that is until Den started barking. She blinked tiredly, making out her loyal dog wagging her tail in front of three silhouettes.

"Winry?" A familiar voice asked her in slight confusion, she sure she knew who it was but let her vision clear, Den jumping up on the shortest of the three silhouettes who was affectionately rubbing her head. Once she blinked the sleep from her eyes she could see clearly it was Ed, Al and a woman she recognized as Riza Hawkeye an officer she had talked to shortly after the Elrics had attempted to resurrect their mother. Flinging herself from the makeshift bed and tackling the State Alchemist.

"Winry… can't… breathe." Ed struggled to get out.

"Sorry…" She said, releasing her childhood friend from the vice-like grip. Now she finally had a good look at Ed and could see that the right hand sticking out of his signature red coat was indeed made of flesh and blood, "It's good to see you again Al and, you too, Miss Riza. Sorry, we weren't expecting you, what are you doing here?"

"I'm here as both the boy's chaperone and to report Ed's progress to the colonel." The lieutenant explained.

"I see, I'm sure granny can put you up somehow." Winry replied.

The older woman offered a thankful smile in response, "I'd appreciate that, thank you."

There was silence between the group, save for Den's occasional barking and the clanking of Al's armour as they made their way towards the Rockbell house. The fact that Resembool was a very spread out village despite the relatively small population size only made it more awkward. There wasn't much to talk about given the situation. Unless the others wanted to hear Winry ramble on about one of her latest automail projects but it was likely most of the terminology would go over their heads.

As they finally travelled up the hill to the house, Pinako was travelling towards them, she briefly scanned Ed before speaking up, "I almost didn't think it could be true, but I suppose anything is possible with alchemy." She began, causing Ed to look away from her, "Still, doesn't seem that becoming a chimera made you any taller." She commented seemingly off-handed.

That caught Ed's attention, "I'm still taller than you any day!" He declared indignantly.

"By about a millimetre." She retorted.

"Who's barely as tall as an ant!" He shouted comically before having Pinako knock him on the head with her pipe.

"What was that for?!" Ed questioned, tentatively massaging the new bump on his head.

"To calm you down, you've still got your temper at least," Pinako stated, "That's enough for me to know that you're still you." She continued warmly, "Though I didn't expect to host a woman of the military along with two troublesome boys."

"Apologies for the sudden intrusion Miss Rockbell." Riza acknowledged with a nod.

"Think nothing of it, you'll have to sleep on the couch and earn your keep but that's about it." She said, half-stern with the last part.

Riza gave a light-hearted salute, "Understood ma'am."

"Good, I'll get you all some breakfast, make yourselves at home, then you can do what you need to do."

While Pinako had certainly promised to give them breakfast, what followed was practically a feast fit for a king. As a small farming village, the residents of Resembool tended to base most of their diets around what was available to them on local ranches and farms. For the breakfast were strips of bacon, eggs cooked in a variety of fashions and even a few cheeses. At the side was toasted bread.

Normally this would seem like overkill for only four people who could eat but Ed seemed to be able to eat nearly three times as much as the others. Eventually, it had led to just him eating with Pinako, Winry, Riza and Al were looking at him with surprise.

"Ed, slow down." Al advised as he was well aware of his brother's appetite but even he had to admit this was much more than normal.

"Yeah Ed you might choke." Winry added in a worried tone.

"'m shine." He replied, answering through a mouth full of food as he shrugged his shoulders only to suddenly tense as his face turned blue, much to the alarm of others. Riza attempted to Heimlich the State Alchemist unsuccessfully as he clawed comically at his throat. Pinako fetched a glass of water, which Ed quickly took and downed in one go. Sighing in relief at swallowing the food.

"We told you so." Winry commented smugly, receiving an unamused look from Ed, to which she childishly stuck her tongue out.

There was a slight pause before the two friends began snickering together, it had been some time since the two had been allowed to enjoy themselves as kids.

"Okay, you ready Al?" Ed questioned, his brother seemed confused for a moment but then questioned Ed in response.

"You mean right now? You just ate."

"I know, but I want to get used to it as soon as possible." The Fullmetal Alchemist explained.

For once, Riza seemed to be the only one who couldn't deduce what was being said between the two siblings whilst Winry and Pinako seemed to understand it perfectly, "Is there something I'm missing here?" She inquired.

Ed flashed a proud grin at that, "We were taught that as well as honing the mind it's important to hone the body as well. Al and I have sparred since we lost our bodies, I've never beaten him once, maybe with me being a chimera I might actually have a chance!"

With that explanation, the group made their way outside, though a lot further back than usual until they were out of sight of the roads. While Resembool was a spread-out village it was still well-connected both on a local and national level. The last thing anyone needed was for a villager or trader to spot Ed in his chimera form and for all hell to break loose about a seven-foot tall lizard stalking the countryside of south-eastern Amestris.

When they reached an area of grassland the brothers deemed suitable, Ed began to undress. Noticing Winry's blush and Pinako looking ready to beat him half to death with her pipe, Riza decided to jump in with an explanation.

"When Ed transforms he grows in size, causing his clothes to rip, my guess is he simply doesn't want them damaged." The other two women seemed to accept the explanation and Ed thankfully only stripped down to his underwear. He placed the folded bundle down by the women.

"Uh… now what?" Al asked.

"Now I've got to learn to turn into a chimera at will and but to practice that, I need a trigger of some kind for me to change. Al, I want you to punch me as hard as you can and I'm not going to make any attempt to dodge."

"Why not?" He questioned in surprise.

"Fight or flight, I don't know much about chimeras but I do know at least that in a life or death situation any animal can choose to either fight back against a threat or try to run away from it. If I don't run, maybe I'll react by changing into the chimera." Ed stated.

"I see your point." Al said, nodding, "Here I go." He continued, winding up a punch and launching the blow at Ed's stomach. The State Alchemist kept his eyes opened the entire time, figuring it would help in a quicker reaction which is why he was surprised when nothing happened and Al's fist collided with his abdomen. Consequently, this threw him back several feet like a ragdoll.

"Ed!" The other members of the group cried in alarm as the blond sat up albeit doubled over.

That was when Ed felt a change overcome him, it was a familiar feeling as his skin changed to scales, his body expanded and swelled, and the tail once more grew from his lower back.

"Ugh…" He groaned in the chimera's scratchy voice, for a tense moment there was silence. Den raised her hackles at the unfamiliar sight but dared not growl and Riza felt up her holster nervously, "That… was not what I expected." Ed finally choked out, causing a wave of relief to sweep over everyone present.

"Let's see what we're dealing with here." Ed said as he began examining his changed appearance. He hadn't gotten the chance to when in Connors' laboratory. His claws were likely as sharp as daggers and noted that his eyesight was significantly sharper when in his chimera form. Remembering the changes made to his head, he tried something out, snaking his now-forked tongue out and catching various scents, effectively tasting the air as the various smells ran over his taste buds and his tongue brushed against the Jacobson's Organ on the roof of his mouth.

Woodsmoke from burning log fires, freshly harvested crops and even the scent of sheep. The latter of which admittedly made Ed want to salivate more than he cared to admit. Even the others had their own unique scents. Den and Pinako, quite unsurprisingly smelled of wet dog and tobacco respectively, Al didn't seem to have any true discernible scent, likely due to his metal body, Riza gave off the aroma of gunpowder and Winry smelled like oil.

Slowly, he walked over to Al. Admittedly, when he fought the chimera in Connor's lab the adrenaline had pushed him through not being used to movement in this form. When he was in front of Al, the lizard's mouth seemed to turn upwards into a smile even though it more closely resembled a snarl.

"Ha, yes! I'm as tall as you are Al! No one's going to call me small enough to use as a tooth pick ever again!" He triumphantly declared, causing everyone else to sweat drop as it was a hollow victory at best given he would revert back to his normal height back in his human form.

"Right then," Ed spoke up, quickly jumping away from his brother, "Let's see what I can do!" He declared, priming his claws as Al readied his fists. Ed swiped at Al after lunging for him, only for Al to grab his arm and threw his brother over his shoulder.

Ed landed hard and Al went for a hold down. In the split second just before Al fell upon him, Ed thought of something. As Connors had explained to him, many of the lizards used in the transmutation had the power to regenerate as well as certain other abilities. One in particular, Ed thought he may as well try, he closed his eyes and squeezed them shut as hard as he could.

Two softball-sized globs of blood erupted from his eyelids, "What the-!" Al cried in surprise, the sudden loss of his vision distracting him as he rolled to the side in case Ed had set a trap for him.

"Huh, so it worked?" Ed spoke up, glad that the repellent ability of the Horned Lizard hadn't been lost to him.

"What did you do?" Al asked, holding up his arms in surrender as Riza gave him a handkerchief to wipe the blood from his vision.

"One of the lizards Connors used can spray foul smelling blood from its eyes, from what I felt I think I simultaneously popped several blood vessels in my eyelids. I don't think I was supposed to rupture that many at once though, so I'll have to look it up to see how its done properly. At the minute I'm basically blind but I can feel my eyelids repairing themselves." Ed explained.

"I see," Al said, "Do you think you have abilities from the other lizards?"

"Maybe…" Ed replied uncertainly, "I could have a toxic bite, but I don't want to test that out yet. I'm no Biologist but even I can tell I can't run on water with these feet I've got. As for camouflage and sticking to wall, I'll have to try those out." Al nodded at that, understanding that for the moment at least, it would be trial and error in discovering the new powers Ed possessed. The State Alchemist soon shook his head, flicking the blood around his eyes off, the blood vessels had finally finished regenerating, "Ready for round two?" Ed questioned confidently, Al gave no verbal response as he got into a fighting stance and the two rushed each other once again.

* * *

 **A/N: Hey guys, finally back at this and I'm terribly sorry I let this hiatus go on as long as it did. Unfortunately, with college, the subsequent rest from it, build up to my brother's wedding and writers block/focus on other stories, I lost track of this one. Next chapter we'll finally get to canon, I hope this was a good chapter, reviews are much appreciated and I hope to see you guys next time!**


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